Regular, Independent Coverage of Sierra Leone

Monthly Archives: February 2015

The World Health Organization (WHO) says Red Cross volunteers working in Guinea continue to face serious threats from community people in Ebola affected areas.

The WHO statement follows the attack on two Red Cross volunteers on Sunday February 8, 2015 in the town of Forécariah, few kilometers from Conakry.

The aid workers were beaten up by community residents while attempting to provide a safe and dignified burial in the community.

WHO officials say an average of ten attacks per month have been committed against Red Cross volunteers in Guinea since July 2014.

Guinea is said to be first to record the index case of the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the region. Despite community protests against aid workers, infections and death numbers are still lower than Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Health officials in Sierra Leone say they have started recording a rising number of new Ebola infections in Sierra Leone.

The announcement follows a report of 14 new infections on Thursday February 12, 2015 and 14 new infections and 13 deaths the previous day. Majority of the new infections are within the city of Freetown.

Health officials say the Aberdeen community in western Freetown is currently the leading Ebola hot spot within the city.

WHO sources report that a total of 41 unsafe burials reported in Sierra Leone in the week to 8 February accounts for some of the new cases.

World Health Organization (WHO) officials said yesterday that the progress recorded against the Ebola epidemic during the first weeks of this year has suffered a tremendous setback this week.

WHO says new rise in Ebola infection numbers has been recorded this week raising concerns that the virus is taking a new trend in the region.

“The three affected West African countries have reported a rise in new infections this week,” WHO officials told the BBC on Wednesday.

Authorities in Sierra Leone reported 15 Ebola deaths and 21 new infections on February 4, 2015; the highest double digit infections for the last three weeks.

Health officials in the region could not explain the cause of the recent rise in infection numbers but a team of research scientists in France said they have noticed a trend of mutation assumed by the Ebola virus in West Africa.

It is still unknown whether the new cases reflect this trend of mutation but health experts say this new development is worrying.